We try be as fair as we can

The media’s portrayal of news is always in the spotlight – even more so as we grapple with the beast that is online journalism.

How do we (the media) make editorial decisions? What influences the news agenda? How do we portray a news event? These are all questions which keep me up at night.

The answers to these questions are what ensure we are relevant, credible and will separate us from other media outlets.

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The City Times recently covered an event at Homestead Dam commemorating World Tai Chi Day.

Although we report on events year-after-year, we always brainstorm new ideas and ways of covering the news, whether it be a different angle to an article or experimenting with camera angles to make sure we do not publish carbon copies of the previous year’s images.

I will be the first to admit that we do not always get things right, or, at least, to the expectation of our valued reader.

But I am always open to constructive criticism, and, if we have erred, we will correct the necessary information.

The World Tai Chi Day event led to criticism from more than one person (see letter published on last week’s opinion page) and dissatisfaction as the photo used apparently did not represent the full extent of the event and was seen as being used to appease the two people in the photograph.

Tough job, isn’t it?

Well, I did explain to the concerned person that the photograph used was done based on its composition, and in my mind, because I thought the photographic qualities meant it was the best photograph I had available to use in that particular newspaper.

The caption did provide context to the image, expanded on the reason for the event and gave credit to the organiser, although the organiser was not depicted in the photo.

From an editorial perspective, the best photograph available for an edition is usually used on the front page, but there are always exceptions.

In this case, we went with this event on the front page, which would normally not receive front page coverage.

I was at pains to explain that group photos (I was asked to use a group photo with about 50 people in it) is near impossible.

We would need at least the width of an entire page to ensure all the faces in the photo can be seen, a luxury we do not have.

If I had the space, I would have liked to use more photos, but with space being limited, I cannot allocate a full page spread only to ‘ignore’ other news.

Exceptions, once again, are always there.

Some weeks I have mini panic attacks as I am concerned that I do not have enough copy, and then a week later I have enough content to fill two newspapers plus.

This naturally raises questions from the public’s eye – which I understand, but considering all the variables, there is usually a good explanation for most things.

Fortunately, the City Times has a hungry beast in www.benonicitytimes.co.za, which is fed news 24/7.

The website frees up space and allows us to give comprehensive coverage.

Where we might only have space for one photo in print, we have the whole Internet to publish as many photos as we see fit.

For many, print is still first prize.

For me, constructive criticism and feedback from my community (no matter how negative) is first prize.

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